From Fibre to Feeling: Interdisciplinary Hair Research for Innovation

Human hair has a complex structure and comes in a wide variety of colours and curl patterns. Thus, hair manageability goals vary significantly among individuals. This talk will discuss the single-fibre and hair-assembly interactions with cosmetics and their impact on consumers’ experience and hair-related goals. Specific AI-driven approaches to exploring different dimensions of hair properties, such as curvature, alignment and volume, will be discussed. The talk will also illustrate the behavioural dimensions of hair manageability and social psychology-led approaches to capturing such data. The significance of such approaches will be further demonstrated by presenting data on the personal and social significance of hair in the context of global trends such as growing hair curl diversity and an increasing percentage of consumers aged over 60 globally. The relationship between hair and health will be discussed, drawing on research in hair growth management, scalp care and cultural practices surrounding identity, ageing and wellbeing. The impact of such research on responsible cosmetic innovation and communications will be considered,too.